Global handset major, Nokia today announced the launch of two new touch screen devices namely Nokia 5230 and the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic combining the features of touch interface with that of music and entertainment features.

The Nokia 5230 is positioned as an affordable touch device with rich entertainment features. Nokia launched the model in India as well as across the globe today. It offers 33 hours of playback time and is priced at 149 euros. In some markets the handset will come preloaded with Comes music service of Nokia and such models will be priced at 259 euros. Headphones with 3.5mm AV connector can be connected to the device for a personal rich audio experience. It also has a Media bar with quick access to favourite media and applications such as music, photos, YouTube or Ovi Share. Thumbnail images of up to 20 friends are displayed and their communications history including emails, phone calls, photos or other social media updates.The handset is expected to be commercially available from Q4 2009.

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is derived from the top selling Nokia 5800 Xpress music. The home page has one touch shortcuts to content and popular social networks like facebook and MySpace. It also has a innovative ‘people carousel’ as in the case of Nokia 5230 displaying thumbnail images of as many as 20 friends along with communication history.The model offers 27 hours of playback time and a 4GB memory card for storing music and other media. It can store new music through the MusicStore either directly on the phone or through a PC.

The Espoo, Finland-based company, has recorded declines in the average selling price of its handsets for the last six quarters and has stepped up its efforts in recent years to find new revenue streams, launching services such as music download store Ovi and buying mobile navigation company Navteq in July last year.

The company remains the dominant producer of mobile phones with a 38% share of the global market, although it has faced increased competition for high-end phones from Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone, and Research in Motion Ltd.'s (RIMM) Blackberry. It has also ceded market share to Asian rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (SSNHY), which already makes both PCs and mobile phones. Meanwhile, companies such as Taiwan's Acer Inc. (2353.TW), the third-largest PC-maker by shipments, in February launched its first lineup of smartphones.

The move highlights increased consumer demand for products that fuse portable computing, telecommunications and music listening technology, and marks a significant strategic move, said Ranjit Atwal, principal research analyst for the PC industry at Gartner Inc.

"It's not going to be a huge compared with its mobile portfolio, but strategically it's where devices are headed," with the convergence of PC-like functions together with the ability to communicate. He added the key task will be how it will differentiate its offering from rivals.

Around 2.5 million netbooks were sold in Europe last quarter, according to Gartner figures.

"A growing number of people want the computing power of a personal computer with the full benefits of mobility," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's Executive Vice President for Devices, in a statement.

"We are in the business of connecting people and the Nokia Booklet 3G is a natural evolution for us."

Nokia declined to comment on pricing, availability or detailed specifications of the device ahead of a media event Sept. 2. "It looks a more premium device than low end," said Gartner research director for mobile Carolina Milanesi, noting that operators also want to improve data revenue though it remains to be seen how the device will be marketed and what sort of subsidies may be available.

That the device will be based on Windows is a positive, as there had been some concern that it would use the "aging" Symbian platform, said FIM analyst Michael Schroder in Helsinki, but he cautioned that Nokia "will enter head to head with strong competitors in a tough market."

Nokia's net profit was EUR380 million for the three months to June 30, down 66% from EUR1.10 billion a year earlier on sales of EUR9.91 billion, down from EUR13.15 billion.

At 1325 GMT, Nokia shares were trading up 1.4% at EUR8.89 while the broader Helsinki market was up 1.6%. The stock has lost more than 20% of its value in the past three months on concerns over consumer spending amid the recession.

Windows 7 is a relatively modest improvement over Windows Vista in terms of performance, features and security. But, with an aging XP unable to take advantage of the latest hardware and networking technologies, the time is coming for most enterprises to consider a Windows client upgrade. eWEEK Labs put Windows 7 RTM through its paces and found some compelling usability improvements, features that will work best (or only) with Windows Server 2008 R2 and some mixed security messages.

With Windows 7 now released to manufacture and with licensing available for Software Assurance customers, the time is right for enterprise administrators to begin testing the new operating system in earnest.

For while Windows 7 itself is really a somewhat modest improvement over Windows Vista in terms of performance, features and security, the time is coming for most enterprises to consider a client upgrade to take best advantage of the latest technologies. Come October, Windows XP will celebrate its eighth birthday, and the aging OS is not the best choice out there for multicore systems and 64-bit architecture on the hardware side, nor is it best-suited for modern networking technologies such as IPv6, ISCSI or even wireless networking.

The most noticeable and compelling aspect of Windows 7 is undoubtedly the revamped Aero interface (which I first looked at in my review of the public beta). With the Aero Peek thumbnail-driven task bar blending access to dormant applications and background windows alike; new Jump Lists providing quick access to application-specific documents and history; and Libraries extending the scope of access beyond the computer and out to the network, a lot of applications and documents are now within the user’s reach with just a few clicks.

But GUI enhancements are not what will drive enterprise uptake of the new operating system.

For this audience, there are a number of features in Windows 7--including DirectAccess (remote access into the network leveraging IPv6) and BranchCache (local caching of files and sites)--that are designed to work with servers and domains upgraded to the latest version of Microsoft's server line, windows server R2. eWEEK Labs will look at those kinds of features down the road in our "better together" testing of the two products in use in tandem. In the near future we’ll also look in more depth at the new Enterprise Search and the myriad virtualization options available for use with Windows 7.

What do you call a lavish, two-volume book with its own alphabet, bizarre illustrations of people turning into animals during sex, eating food made of colored light, and other images from the Twilight Zone?

Image: abebooks.co

Good question.

Since the Codex Seraphinianus, by Italian artist Luigi Serafini, was first printed in the 1981, countless people all over the world have been trying to figure out what it means.

Dubbed "the most unusual and interesting book ever published," the Codex is a literary philosopher's dream come true.

Serafini said "The Codex presents the creative vision of this time" and was for the “age of information” where coding and de-coding messages is increasingly important in genetics, computer science and literary criticism.

Richard Davies wondered what Serafini would make of today’s information age featuring Facebook, Twitter, blogs and Google?

Davies said "the [Codex] is essentially an encyclopedia about an alien world that clearly reflects our own. Each chapter appears to deal with key facets of this surreal place, including flora, fauna, science, machines, games and architecture. It’s difficult to be exact because no-one has ever understood the contents page. Elements of today’s world are visible but they are nearly always given some surreal twist."

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of blogs dedicated to deciphering the Codex. A good one is The Believer, by Justin Taylor.

If you'd like to buy a copy of the book, move some money around. A signed first edition will cost you about $5000, although other editions of the book range from about $350 and up.

In an attempt to tap the growing opportunity of personalized digital printing in the hospitality sector, HP India has announced a digital print network service to educate corporate, hotelier, and printing organization. The move is aimed at addressing the industry's requirement of highly personalization solutions, and to have larger business share.

While offering more insight on this, Puneet Chadha, director (imaging solutions business) of HP India's Imaging and Printing Group said, "Today more than 90% of printing solutions in hospitality vertical is dominated by off-set printing and single digit being driven by digital printing. Digital printing fulfills the four key needs of hospitality sector, such as personalized printing, short run and on demand printing and environment friendly.""The domestic hospitality sector is expected to see investment of over $11 billion in the next two years with 40 international hotel brands making their presence felt in India by 2012," he added.

Scratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web.

Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create and share Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.

The World's Premier Student Technology Competition

The Imagine Cup is one way Microsoft is encouraging young people to apply their imagination, their passion, and their creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world. Now in its eighth year, the Imagine Cup has grown to be a truly global competition focused on finding solutions to global issues. Below is a list of the 2009 and 2008 winners. For More Info Visit www.imaginecup.com.

A recent survey sponsored by Temenos has found that despite lots of marketing activity, cloud computing has yet to generate any real support from banking executives. The survey found that just 15 percent of 42 executives are currently utilizing the technology, about 33 percent said they don't know enough about the potential risks and 44 percent said the lack of data security was a barrier.

Below the executive level, there seems to be a lot more support for the technology. An IBM/SIFMA survey of more than 350 Wall Street IT professionals has suggested "a significant increase in the level of interest in new technologies and computing models, in particular cloud computing, as firms seek to overcome budgetary restrictions and skills shortages," reports Wall Street & Technology. The IT managers are obviously closer to the ground on new technologies. At some point, they'll have to convince the top executives. A process that I think is underway.

A month after the images of Nikon Digital Single lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras D300S and D3000 were leaked, the company has made the cameras official.What's New?

The D300S is the revived version of the popular D300 which was launched about two years ago. Featuring a 12.3 megapixel CMOS sensor and 51-point autofocus system, the D300S offers full 720p HD video recording, a 7 fps continuous shooting and Dual CF and SD card slots.

On the other hand, the D3000 will be the company's newest entry-level DSLR with features like a 10.2 MP DX-format CCD sensor and 3fps continuous shooting.

Its features include a 3-inch LCD and 11-point AF system with 3D tracking. Targeted towards beginners and experienced compact users, the camera features a new Guide mode to help learn how to get the most out of a DSLR. The recommended selling price will be $599 with 18-55mm VR lens.

Other Features

The D300S now features a new Quiet drive mode and a dedicated Live View and Info button as well. The D3000 offers a New Guide mode which provides a simple interface meant to help first-time users to select shooting modes. There's also in-camera photo editing and Nikon's Integrated Dust Reduction System in the camera.

Both cameras come with an Active D-Lighting function which claims to vastly improve shadows and highlights of high-contrast scenes.